Bitcoin hits US$105

The open-source digital currency has absolutely surged in the last month, racing past the US$100 mark overnight.

Since its arrival back in 2009, digital currency Bitcoin has been chugging along. Many supposed it would go the way of many digital currencies before it, such as Beenz and Flooz, which failed ignominiously; or the Ripple and the Ven, which languish in relative obscurity.

Nevertheless, it managed to remain in circulation, finally hitting an all-time high exchange rate at the end of February at US$33. Not even two weeks ago, it had reached US$65.05; and now, coming into April, it has more than tripled its rate of a month ago, skyrocketing to US$105 overnight.

It is estimated that there are around 11 million Bitcoins in circulation — bringing the total value of the Bitcoin to over US$1 billion.

Bitcoin has received a number of endorsements this year — the most recent of which is expense reporting service Expensify, which announced that it would be accepting Bitcoin last week. Earlier this year, Reddit announced that it would be accepting Bitcoin in payment for Gold membership, joining WordPress, Etsy and Kim Dotcom's Mega.

However, the rise hasn't been completely fluctuation-free. Technical problems caused the Bitcoin to fall 23 per cent on 12 March to US$37 before righting itself, and pundits warn that the rise looks suspiciously like a bubble waiting to pop.

Even if it does, however, with more and more big-name websites boarding the Bitcoin train, it’s doubtful that the currency will be disappearing any time soon.

You can check the current Bitcoin exchange rate on Preev.com.